Year Three

The Struggle for LGBTQ Rights in South Africa-By Kiara Ealy The struggle for LGBTQ rights is tied to The Struggle for a free South Africa. Kiara Ealy, a graduate student from the Missouri School of Journalism, created this video to show the fight towards LGBTQ rights and their eventual incorporation of the South African Bill of Rights—all through the eyes of Tony Sylvester,… Read More

Personal Story: Abubaker Brown- By Sarah Darby Abubaker Brown, a tour guide at the District Six Museum, has happy memories from growing up in the area. He lived in District Six for more than 20 years of his life, until he and his family were forced from their homes during apartheid. Brown’s great great grandfather was originally from… Read More

Personal Story: Harold Herman-By Sarah Darby Harold Herman, 72, is the dean emeritus of the Faculty of Education at the University of Western Cape. He was born in a village located between Stellenboch and Somerset West. He lived there through out his childhood and went to school in District Six. As a scholar in sociology, he has well-rounded observations… Read More

Personal Story: Noor Ebrahim-By Sarah Darby Noor Ebrahim is one of the founders of the District Six Museum, and is currently the museum’s education officer. Ebrahim and his family were forced to move to an area called Athlone in 1974. Before he left, he took photos of the area. In 1992, he was asked to show his photographs… Read More

Personal Story: Chrischené Julius-By Sarah Darby Chrischené Julius is the the manager of the Collections, Research and Documentation Department at the District Six Museum and has worked in the museum for 12 years. She was born in the last decade of apartheid in 1981. She remembers not being allowed to go to particular places during apartheid. Today, she… Read More

Personal Story: Joe Schaffers- By Sarah Darby Joe Schaffers is a former resident of District Six who was forced to move from the area after it was declared for whites only. Schaffers is now an Education Officer in theDistrict Six Museum, where he has worked for 20 years. Are people from the Cape Flats moving back to downtown… Read More

Personal Stories: Michael Mayalo and Sakina Tesai-By Sarah Darby Trafalgar High School was one of the few buildings in District Six to survive destruction during apartheid. The high school was originally declared a school for students classified as colored by the government. Today, the school is open to all students, but faces challenges that resulted from the apartheid era. Student Michael Mayalo… Read More

History of District 6-By Sarah Darby District Six is located in downtown Cape Town, right behind the City Hall of Cape Town. Thousands of vehicles drive on National Route N2, one of the main highways of South Africa, which passes through the district. The only university campus in Cape Town downtown area, Cape Peninsula University of Technology –… Read More

Soft vengeance: The story of Albie Sachs-Years of torture, a 24-year exile and a near-death experience didn’t deter Albie Sachs’ dedication to advocating for equality in his home country. Albie Sachs was not just a lawyer. He also was a freedom fighter, an anti-apartheid activist who fought for LGBT rights and gender equality, and much, much more. In May 2016, we,… Read More

Vanguards of the Revolution: Teachers’ Unions in South Africa-By Carter Stoddard In 1977 Zubeida Desai carried an extra pair of underwear with her every day on her way to work. She anticipated being arrested, as many of her colleagues had been previously, and wanted to be prepared for an overnight stay in jail. Today, Professor Zubeida Desai is finishing up the last year… Read More

Inside the Apple Boxes — Stories from Robben Island-By Rachel Foster-Gimbel In the 1990s, political prisoners streamed out of the notorious Robben Island jail. And in their arms they carried boxes filled with all their possessions from their time behind bars. These materials documented their stories from prison and the meetings and gatherings of some of the most well-known political activists of the… Read More

After Apartheid-Four colored people, who work or vol District 6 talk about the things that changed for them once apartheid ended in 1994. District 6 is a neighborhood in Cape Town, which was very diverse. In 1966, the Apartheid government declared the area to be a white-only area. Over the next decade, government removed all non-white residents… Read More

The Book They Couldn’t Pass Without-Pass Laws came in effect soon after the exit of British control of South Africa and the succession of the country’s authority by the Afrikaans government. Afrikaans refers to the white Dutch settlers. The law came into effect in several stages and made it mandatory for all Black Africans to carry the reference book, issued… Read More